Glossary

absolute block: A type of blocking scheme in a fighting game where once you block a string of hits that combo together, letting go of block will not make you stop blocking until the hits no longer combo. SWR has absolute blocking.

auto block: This only occurs in exactly one situation, which is after an air-tech. When you recover in the air by teching the auto-block feature triggers, which will automatically block one attack or one airtight-series of attacks, regardless of what direction or buttons you are pushing, as long as it's not D for and air-fly. In other words/laymens terms, if you air tech and hold forward or up and some one hits you with several rapidly hitting bullets, the game will automatically block them, but it will not block the next attack after blockstun ends (you'll have to block manually at that point), even though you were pushing the "wrong" direction.

airtech: Recovering in midair after a knockdown attack, done by pressing 4/6 and any button.

autoblock: The ability to block any attack by simply holding back or down-back. Not always beneficial.

backdash cancel (BDC): The act of backdash cancelling a bullet move, commonly referred to by the acronym BDC.

block advantage: The amount of frames you recover before or after your opponent when they block a move. A +#F indicates how many frames you recover before they do, and a -#F indicates how many frames they recover before you do. If you are both playing the same character, and your opponent blocks a move that is +2F, and then you both do the same move as soon as you recover from the last blocked move, your attack will win because you recovered and started your move 2 frames before they did.

blockstring: A series of attacks done on a blocking opponent. Generally, these attacks are difficult to punish since they consist of a series of attacks where the attacker recovers before the blocking character recovers from blockstun. Some characters have 'airtight' blockstrings, meaning that the blocking character must use a border escape in order to avoid having his spirit meter fully drained and his guard crushed.

blockstun: The duration in which you are unable to move while blocking an attack.

BnB: "Bread and Butter". This denotes a staple combo for a character which you must be familiarized with as it is considered an essential portion of their offensive tactics.

Bomb: One of the types of system cards that resemble an IaMP n-bomb.

Border Escape (BE): Holding a direction during blockstun and tapping D twice. This breaks a spirit orb but allows you to escape blockstun and graze at the same time. Hold 4 when tapping D to backdash, 6 to forward dash, 1 to highjump 7, 2 to highjump 8, and 3 to highjump 9.

Border resist: Occurs when comboed into from a guard crush. Prorates 80%.

bullets/dots: A term to refer to a character's projectile attacks (B and C).

cancelling: The act of cancelling a move into another move so that the hits string together and cannot be stopped once initiated.

CH: Counterhit. Increases damage of the first hit by 1/3.

Chain arts: Cancel into a special from another attack. Prorates 85%.

Chain spell: Cancel into a spellcard from another attack. Prorates 85%.

combo: A series of hits that cannot be blocked once the first connects.

crossup: A kind of mixup (see below) that involves ambiguously attacking from either the left or right, generally by using aerial overheads with large hitboxes like Komachi's j.2A.

d-canceling: Any time you use the D button to cancel a move. This precludes HJC and also can refer to prematurely cutting off bullet attacks to conserve spirit.

deck: Each character has a deck of 20 cards (spellcards, skillcards, system cards) inside a profile. These decks can be arranged by editing a profile and adjusting a deck.

dial-A: General means of referring to a character's default A button combo.

dotsies: A term to refer to the zoning games a character plays by throwing bullets. Essentially footsies with fireballs.

flying: Pressing and holding D + a direction in the air in order to fly. Continually drains spirit.

footsies: A term to refer to how two players will vye for territorial control by using moves to limit the space and options the enemy has.

frame advantage: The amount of time you have after a move in which you can move but your opponent cannot.

frame disadvantage: The amount of time you have after a move in which you cannot move but your opponent can.

frame trap: A tactic in which you use a move that seems to be punishable but is actually advantageous on block, baiting the opponent into being punished when they attempt to retaliate.

graze attacks: Attacks which have a few frames of grazing property added to their animation, used to break through aggressive attack strings with bullets.

grounded: A more eye-friendly term for 'unairblockable'.

groundslam: A move, usually a CH, that reels the opponent off the ground with extra time to be hit.

groundtech: Rolling in a direction before you get up off the ground, performed by holding D and 4 or 6. If you tech to the other side of your opponent, you must input specials in the direction you were facing before you tech. The only time this doesn't apply is when you are wallslammed. If you are wallslammed input specials in the direction you are face after you tech.

guard break: An attack which is unblockable from the air, done while you are grounded and the enemy is airblocking.

hitstun: The duration in which you are unable to block while being hit by an attack.

HJC: High jump cancel. The act of cancelling any projectile attack with a high jump (7/8/9D), both to decrease the recovery and to decrease spirit usage from full bursts of bullets.

HJC rush: An attack string that involves a combination of melee attacks and hjc'd bullets that is intended to pin a character down in a seamless string of moves.

IABD: Instant air backdash. Easiest way to do this in this game is 74D, not 74.

IAD: Instant airdash. Easiest way to do this in this game is 96D, not 96.

juggle: Keeping the enemy in the air with a series of successive hits.

levels: A number varying from 1 to 4 ("MAX") that defines how powerful your special moves are.

meaty: An attack in which any frame other than the first active hit-frame connects on a knocked down opponent getting up off the ground. Alternatively but similarly, a move with lots of active frames that makes it practical for this purpose.

mixup: A situation where you can choose to attack in two or more different ways, each way requiring the opponent to do something different to defend against it. There are three primary types of mixups: High/Low; where you could either do a high attack that must be blocked high, or a low attack that must be blocked low. Left/Right; where you could either hit the opponent from the front or the back, forcing the opponent to block either left or right depending on which you do. Melee/Bullet; where you can either use a B or C or special attack with bullet properties, or an A or special attack with meleee properties, forcing the opponent to either graze using dash/jump to graze the bullets, or block to negate the melee. There is also a fourth type of mixup, which is to attack or defend, such as using either a melee move for an attack or a backdash as a defense, which capitalizes on an opponent's reactions or lack of action.

okizeme: Abbreviated "oki", okizeme is comprised of tactics you use after knocking down an enemy. In SWR, okizeme typically consists of throwing bullets that follow in behind your attacks so that you can pin the enemy down without fear of retaliation.

point item: Little red crystals which you collect when you knock an enemy down or hit them while they have bullets on-screen. These adjust the weather counter.

proration: The amount that a move is scaled down in terms of damage. Proration occurs during combos where each subsequent hit deals less damage than it would on its own, to prevent combos from dealing too much damage.

reel: The state of a character spinning around helplessly, adding time to hitstun.

spirit damage: Damage you take to your spirit gauge when blocking bullets or airblocking.

spirit crushed/drained: When you lose all spirit either by blocking too many attacks or being guard crushed, an orb will "break", turning red, becoming unusable and refilling at a slow pace.

spirit gauge: The blue orbs at the bottom which determine how much spirit you have remaining.

stagger: The state of a character blocking a move incorrectly while drained, giving huge hitstun. Note that you cannot kill a character by staggering attacks.

superarmor: The state in which your character will not enter hitstun from an attack, but will enter hitstop. Damage is also calculated differently depending on the type of super armor. When this is active, moves will continue to persist even if struck, since no hitstun occurs, though the action is delayed by the amount of hitstop.

tiger knee: Most air-usable skills can be tiger kneed, meaning if you input the skill's command (i.e. 236) then press any jump (7, 8 or 9), the game will interpret a highjump in the selected direction, but you'll be able to cancel the first frames of the highjump into the skill by pressing B or C. The window is usually very short though. I.e. Aya's default 2149C will perform a small "highjump" hop forward then Conquer Dash diagonally downards. However, tiger kneeing can only be performed with normal highjumps and not HJCs.

triangle graze/IABD stalling: Dash forward, superjump from dash, airdash back, repeat. Essentially a seamless graze that yields no ground for the opponent. IABD stalling is the less seamless but still functional version of this.

type-3 attack: An attack, usually a spellcard, that deals spirit damage when blocked but cannot be grazed.

wallslam: A move, usually a CH, that reels the opponent off the wall with extra time to be hit.

wavedash: The act of ground dashing repeatedly to stay in a constant state of graze. This can be done either by holding D and tapping forward, or holding forward and tapping D, or simply tapping forward. The result of which will be your character starting a dash then quickly entering the dash-cool, and then transitioning into another dash without leaving a graze state at any point.